


To Turnip A New Leaf

by WishUponADragon



Series: To Create Is To Submit To The Mortifying Ordeal Of Being Known [1]
Category: Dappervolk (Video Game)
Genre: animation related world-building, canon world hopper amnesia, negative
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:07:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27154993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WishUponADragon/pseuds/WishUponADragon
Summary: Buli has a bit of a problem with stealing Bearnard's turnips. Alaire thinks she has the solution. She will make an animation that Buli will love.
Series: To Create Is To Submit To The Mortifying Ordeal Of Being Known [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1975978





	To Turnip A New Leaf

An eye blinked open and seemed to scowl at her as tiny legs kicked in the air, seeking purchase on solid ground. Alaire gasped and nearly dropped the creature. The bucket of goop left over from Buli’s experiment had animated in such a way that she’d been holding it upside down. She gently lowered the thing and let it right itself.

It was small and humanoid, and held a bag that Alaire was pretty sure hadn’t been around when she’d started animating the bucket of goop, which now rested on its head, almost like a helmet. The little imp looked around Bearnard’s shed, carefully examining the things hanging on the walls.

Bearnard poked his head in. “I heard something in here, are you doing alright?” His eyes settled on the creature and he nodded. “Oh, so it worked, then. Well, good. Maybe she won’t be so set on my turnips now.” 

The thing dashed at the wall and started slipping tools into its bag. “Hey, hey now!” Bearnard picked it up and held the bag upside down until all the things inside clattered out. It had snatched more than Alaire had seen it take. “Golly, it’s just like her, now isn’t it?” He handed it to Alaire. “Why don’t you run over and show her?”

Alaire struggled to keep the squirming thing in her arms. Her turnipling looked at them both with concern. “Yeah, I’ll do that. Sorry about the trouble, Bearnard, and thanks for the idea!”

He nodded and waved after her as she walked down the road. The creature hadn’t stopped trying to get down, so as soon as they were far enough away from the turnip farm, Alaire set it down. “Okay, listen, Riley, can I call you Riley? I need you to behave. Stealing from people isn’t okay.”

Riley crossed its arms and pouted at her. She sighed. “Look, just, keep it together for a little bit? We’re gonna go talk to someone, and what I’m gonna tell her is that stealing isn’t okay, and if you’re stealing stuff right and left that undermines me a bit, you know? Riley, please?” 

The thing seemed to relent. Alaire nodded, pleased, and stood up. “Okay, let’s go, then! To Buli’s house!”

Buli’s house was a cute little cottage that put Alaire in mind of fairytales that lurked in corners of her brain that were empty when she put too much attention to them. She shook the unsettling feeling off and knocked on the door. 

The person that answered appeared to be a little girl, but Alaire had grown to suspect that this image was deceiving. She opened the door a little wider when she saw Alaire. “Oh, it's you. Did you bring me any more turnips?”

Alaire grinned, shook her head, and gestured to Riley, who was clinging to her ankle. “I brought you something better! I made it out of one of the buckets you gave me to get rid of. Isn’t it great? I can alchemize stuff that isn’t turnips!”

Much to her surprise, Buli was not delighted. In fact, she seemed positively furious. Alaire instinctively took a step back as the other woman’s scowl darkened to rival a thunderstorm. “Are you serious? I have enough variables to account for without you just alchemizing random trash you find! I only study turnip pets for a reason! Turnips only have so many variables, so I know for sure that the design of the animation came from the worldhopper! Did you write down anything about the experiment waste you took from me? Do you remember what the bucket was made out of? Or how much it weighed? Or how much essence was in it? No? I can’t study this, it’s useless!” She stepped back into her cottage and slammed the door. 

Alaire took a deep breath and looked down at Riley. It was hiding behind her now. A few tears ran down her calf. She sighed and sat down cross legged next to it. “Hey, hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t know she’d be like that. Don’t cry. I still think you’re awesome.” 

She was having trouble keeping the disappointment out of her voice though. She’d thought Buli would be excited to have a new class of animation to study, but apparently she’d just pissed her off. 

Riley considered her a moment, then scampered away, through Buli’s open window. Alaire leapt to her feet in alarm and almost called after it, but decided that would cause more trouble. She walked a little away from the house and tried not to pace suspiciously as she waited for Riley to come back out. She considered praying Buli wouldn’t catch it, but no one had introduced her to any of the gods of this world yet. 

Finally it crawled back out through the window, its bag no longer empty. It crossed over to her and held up a slice of cheesecake.

Alaire couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, I see. Stealing is fine if they make us sad first, huh?” She took the cheesecake from it. “Thanks, RIley. You have good taste in pilfered desserts.” 

It pulled a lollipop out of the bag and licked it. Alaire grinned. No matter what Buli thought, Riley totally rocked.


End file.
